Multiple adjustment valve

ABSTRACT

A valve for sinks and other applications which allows setting of water temperature and volume, in addition to enabling on-off actuation. The valve includes a housing with hot and cold water inlets, and a cartridge which is installed in the housing and which contains all of the mechanisms for controlling temperature, volume and on-off states. The entire cartridge can be turned to regulate the relative amounts of water from the hot and cold water inlets that can flow through a main passageway in the cartridge to the valve outlet. The main passageway of the cartridge includes a valve seat, and a diaphragm that can move towards and away from the seat to close and open the valve. A volume regulator controls the rate of flow when the valve is on, by limiting the distance that the diaphragm can move away from the valve seat. Every time the valve is opened or closed, a control passageway formed in the diaphragm is swabbed by a needle, so that a small control hole can be utilized without the likelihood of becoming obstructed, the use of a small hole reducing the likelihood of water hammer.

United States Patent Boultinghouse Feb. 29, 1972 [54] MULTIPLEADJUSTMENT VALVE A. C. Boultinghouse, 17533 Dearboum Street, Northridge,Calif. 91324 [22] Filed: Mar. 30, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 23,905

[72] Inventor:

3,351,095 11/1967 Harvey et a1 ..l37/637.4 X

Primary Examiner-Henry T. Klinksiek A ttomey-Lindenberg, F reilich &Wasserrnan [57] ABSTRACT A valve for sinks and other applications whichallows setting of water temperature and volume, in addition to enablingonoff actuation. The valve includes a housing with hot and cold waterinlets, and a cartridge which is installed in the housing and whichcontains all of the mechanisms for controlling temperature, volume andon-off states. The entire cartridge can be turned to regulate therelative amounts of water from the hot and cold water inlets that canflow through a main passageway in the cartridge to the valve outlet. Themain passageway of the cartridge includes a valve seat, and a diaphragmthat can move towards and away from the seat to close and open thevalve. A volume regulator controls the rate of flow when the valve ison, by limiting the distance that the diaphragm can move away from thevalve seat. Every time the valve is opened or closed, a controlpassageway formed in the diaphragm is swabbed by a needle, so that asmall control hole can be utilized without the likelihood of becomingobstructed, the use of a small hole reducing the likelihood of waterhammer.

14 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 90 5O 3o 'IG 8 86 Q .2 View s I w 14. \Vl\/ 5 2o PATENTEDFEB29 1972- SHEET 1 UF 3 KW mm INVENTOR. A C. Bax/1.77MGHOUS 6 PAIENTEBFEB 29 m2 SHEET 3 BF 3 R. USE

INVENTO IIU'6 HO MULTIPLE ADJUSTMENT VALVE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to valves.

2. Description ofthe Prior Art Older type kitchen sinks had one valvefor regulating the flow of cold water and another for regulating theflow of hot water. Modern sinks often employ one valve which regulatesonly temperature and another which regulates only volume. Often, thetemperature and volume controls have been separately mounted on a mainhousing, so that several parts had to be individually removed from themain housing in many types of repairs or overhauls.

In many cases, it would be desirable to add an instant on-off control toa kitchen faucet arrangement, so that a predetermined temperature andvolume setting could be quickly commenced or terminated. This would alsoeliminate annoying dripping that can occur if only a volume control isprovided and it is not turned off completely. Such on-off devices couldbe installed by merely adding an on-off valve in series with the volumecontrol, but this would generally result in a cumbersome structure.Furthermore, many types of on-off valves are highly subject to waterhammer.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present inventionis to provide an valve structure which permits temperature and volumecontrol, wherein the moving mechanisms are contained in a singlecartridge that can be removed and replaced from the valve housmg as aunit.

Another object is to provide a valve of minimum complexity, that permitsadjustment of fluid flow in addition to permitting rapid on-off action.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an on-off valvemechanism of the type which utilizes pressure of the fluid to controlvalve action, which is resistant to water hammer.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a relatively simpleand compact valve is provided which permits adjustment of watertemperature and volume, as well as permitting rapid on-off action. Thevalve includes a main housing with hot and cold water inlets and anoutlet, and a cartridge that can be readily installed in the valve tocontrol water flow from the inlets to the outlet. The cartridge has anouter cartridge housing which can be turned in the main housing toregulate the proportion of water from the hot and cold water inlets thatcan flow through a main passageway to the outlet. A valve seat anddiaphragm are positioned along the main passageway, the diaphragm beingflexible to move against and away from the seat to close and open thevalve. The diaphragm has a hole that permits water to flow behind thediaphragm to keep it closed, until a bleedoff passageway is opened torelieve water pressure on the back side of the diaphragm. A volumeregulator threadably mounted within the outer cartridge housing, can beturned to regulate the distance to which the diaphragm can deflect awayfrom the valve seat, to thereby regulate the volume offlow.

The bleedoff, which controls the on-off states ofthe valve, is changedfrom a closed to an open position every time a pushbutton is operated bythe user to extend or retract a needle. The needle has a swabbingportion that moves through the hole in the diaphragm when the needle isretracted. Thus, the diaphragm hole is repeatedly cleaned out duringnormal use and a small hole can be used without the likelihood ofclogging. The use of a small hole reduces water surges and thereforereduces the likelihood of water hammer.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. The invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a sectional view of a valveconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. la is a partial sectional view showing the valve of FIG. 1 in anopen configuration;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 22 ofFlG. I;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of FIG. I; and

FIG. 7 is a simplified partial sectional view of a valve constructed inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention, which employsremote control of the on-off function.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, the valveincludes a main housing 10 which can be installed on a sink and coveredby a decorative plate 12. The housing has a common outlet region 14 thatleads to two nipples 16, 18 that can be connected to a spout and hose,respectively. The housing has hot and cold water inlets 20, 22 (See FIG.3) which can be coupled to hot and cold water pipes for carrying waterfrom these pipes to the outlet 14. A cartridge 24 which is received inthe main housing 10 includes mechanisms for controlling the temperature,volume, and on-off state of the valve.

The cartridge 24 includes an outer cartridge member or housing 26 thatis rotatably mounted in the main housing 10. A temperature-regulatingportion 28, formed in the cartridge housing has a recess 30 that cancommunicate wit the hot and cold water inlets 20, 22, the effectivesizes of the communicating openings depending upon the rotationalposition of the temperature-regulating portion. Thus, if the regulatingportion 28 is turned clockwise in FIG. 3, then more water is admittedthrough the cold water inlet 22 and less is admitted through the hotwater inlet 20, to provide colder water at the outlet. A person can turnthe entire cartridge to regulate water temperature by turning a knob 29fixed to the outer cartridge housing 26 by interference press fitting,the knob 29 and the knob-receiving portion of the cartridge housinghaving mating splines to prevent relative turning. Water passing throughthe recess 30 continues through a main passageway 32 towards the outletregion 14.

The control of the amount of water flowing through the valve isregulated by walls defining a valve seat 34 and by a diaphragm 36 thatserves as a valve-closing member movable against and away from the valveseat 32 to open and close the flow of water to the outlet region 14. Itmay be noted that water passing by the valve seat 36 can move throughseveral holes 38 to reach the outlet region 14.

The diaphragm 36 is constructed of flexible material, such as Neoprene,which enables its center portion to readily flex towards and away fromthe valve seat 34. The distance to which the center of the diaphragm 36can move away from the valve seat 34 governs the volume of fluid passingto the outlet region 14. A knob 40 can be turned to turn a volumecontrol bushing 42 that is threadably mounted within a nutlike member 43that is held to the outer cartridge housing 26, to advance the bushing42 towards or away from the diaphragm. The nutlike member 43 is heldagainst turning and sliding by a pin 47 that is received in a hole 49 ofthe housing 26. The bushing abuts three rods 44 which are slidablymounted in a passage member 45. The rods 44 can abut a washer 46 thatcontacts a rear surface or back side of the diaphragm 36. The bushing 42therefore moves the three rods 44 towards and allows them to move awayfrom the diaphragm to fix the maximum distance to which the diaphragmcan move away from the valve seat 34, and therefore to control theamount of water flow when the valve is open.

The valve is maintained in a closed position by back water pressureapplied to the back side 48 of the diaphragm 36. A

control passageway or hole 50 in the diaphragm allows water from theinlet side of the main passageway 32 to be applied to the back side ofthe diaphragm. The backside 48 of the diaphragm has a greater normalarea than the portion of the forward side 52 which faces the inlet waterpressure, and therefore the water pressure produces a net force tendingto keep the diaphragm closed against the valve seat 34. However, if thewater pressure at the back side 48 of the diaphragm is relieved, thepressure at the forward side 52 will deflect the diaphragm away from thevalve seat and allow the valve to open.

Relieving the pressure on the back side 48 of the diaphragm to open thevalve is accomplished through a bleedoff passageway 54 in the bypassmember 45, which allows water to drain from the back side of thediaphragm to the outlet area 14. A needle 56 which is slidably mountedwithin the cartridge, can block or open the passage of water from theback side 48 of the diaphragm to the bleedoff passageway 54. The needle56 has a wide diameter region 58 which passes downwardly through a smallO-ring 60 when the valve is to be shut, to block the passage of water tothe bleedoff passageway 54. However, when the needle 56 is movedupwardly so that a narrow region 62 thereof is disposed within theO-ring 60, then water can flow from the back side 48 of the diaphragmpast the O-ring 60 to the bleedoff passageway 54, to relieve pressure onthe back side of the diaphragm. The diaphragm then moves away from thevalve seat 34 and the valve is in its open state.

Movement of the needle 56 is accomplished by a push mechanism 64 of thetype commonly employed in ball point pens to alternately extend andretract the writing tip when a pushbutton is depressed. The mechanismincludes a rotary member 66 which limits the upward movement of theneedle by a compressed spring 68, a catch tube 70 which engagescorresponding catches on the rotary member 66, and a pushbutton 72 whichcan push in the rotary member 66. This type of push-operated retractingand extending mechanism is well known in the ball point pen art, andtherefore will not be described in detail herein. The mechanism operatesso that inward pressing of the pushbutton 72 alternately extends theneedle 56 to the position shown in FIG. 1 and retracts it to a positionwherein the narrow region 62 of the needle is located within the O-ring60. If desired, a push mechanism of the type which also requires pullingcan be used instead. As mentioned above, retraction of the needle allowswater to pass through the O-ring to relieve pressure from the backsideof the diaphragm 36 and cause the valve to open, while extension of theneedle causes the valve to close.

The handle 40 is press fitted onto the pushbutton 72 so that pushing ofthe handle 40 depresses the pushbutton 72 to turn the valve on and off.The handle 40 is also coupled to the volume control bushing 42 bysplines 74 formed on the inside of the handle that are received inrecesses 76 at the upper end of the volume control bushing 42. Thus, thehandle 40 can be turned to rotate the bushing 42 to vary the volumeoffluid that flows during the on state, the handle 40 also being coupledto the pushbutton 72 so that it can be pushed to change the valvebetween the on and off states. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, thevalve is in an off state, and the handle 40 is in a primarily inwardposition. The next time the handle 40 is pushed down, it will moveupwardly to a higher position.

The valve is constructed so that the control passageway 50 in thediaphragm is repeatedly swabbed out to keep it clean. When the valve isin an off state, as shown in FIG. 1, the narrow portion 62 of the needle56 extends through the control passageway 50 in the diaphragm 36. Theneedle also has an enlarged outer end 78. When the needle 56 is movedupward to turn on the valve, the greater diameter outer end 78 lieswithin the control passageway 50. Thus, the outer end 78 of the needlepasses into the control passageway 50 every time the valve is turned on.The passage of the end 78 swabs out the control passageway 50 to free itof any foreign material which has been deposited therein. As a result,the clearance between the outside of the narrow needle region 62'and thewalls of the diaphragm at the control passageway 50 can be small so thatthe control passageway has only a small opening and only a small flow ofwater can pass therethrough. Such a small opening can be employedwithout the likelihood of clogging because of the repeated swabbingaction during normal use. The advantage of a small control passageway isthat surges of water through it are held to a minimum, and this greatlyreduces the likelihood of water hammer. It also may be noted that thelocation of the enlarged end 78 in the control passageway 50 when thevalve is opened, limits the flow of water to the backside of the valve48 to a very small trickle. This allows even a small bleedoff passageway54 to be effective in relieving pressure on the back side of thediaphragm.

The valve employs many O-rings to seal against the leakage of water.However, no O-ring is required to seal the periphery of the diaphragm 36against the leakage of water from its back side 48 to the outlet holes38. Prevention of leakage is assured by the construction of theperipheral portion 80 of the diaphragm. The peripheral portion 80 iswedge-shaped so that the extreme rim is wider than regions immediatelyinward of it. This causes the pressure of water on the back side of thevalve to tend to expand the wedge portion 80 and seal it tightly againstthe outer cartridge 26 and against a retainer 82 that holds thediaphragm in place.

When the handle 40 is turned to increase volume, and the valve is laterturned on, the three rods 44 must quickly move upwardly, being pushed uponly by the deflecting diaphragm which pushes on the washer 46. Somefriction is encountered in the sliding movement of the rods 44, becauseO-rings 84 are employed to prevent the leakage of water past the rodsinto upper regions of the valve mechanism. In order to keep thefrictional force to be overcome to a minimum, narrow diameter rods 44are utilized, which therefore can be sealed by small diameter O-rings.

The temperature regulating portion 28 of the lower end of the outercartridge housing 26 rotates within an elastomeric liner 86, as alsoshown in FIG. 3. The liner 86, which may be constructed of anelastomeric material such as Neoprene, prevents metal-to-rnetal contactbetween the temperatureregulating portion 28 and the walls of the mainhousing 10 at the inlets 20, 22. Where metal-to-metal contact isemployed, residues in some types of water that build up at thecontacting surfaces, cause excessive wear. The walls 88 of the recess 30which pass across the inlet openings are rounded to eliminatediscontinuities. The continuous curve between the radially outer wallsof the regulating portion 28 and the recess 30, helps prevent pinchingof the elastomeric liner 88 around the inlet openings, and thereforereduces the possibility of damage to them.

The cartridge 24 can be installed substantially as a single unit intothe main housing 10 ofthe valve. In order to hold it in place, aretainer ring 90 is employed, which is received in corresponding grooves92 and 94 formed in the main housing 10 and outer cartridge housing 26.As shown in FIG. 6, the main housing is provided with an access slot 96which extends to the extreme upper end of the main housing, to permitreception of the retainer 90. In order to install the cartridge, theretainer 90 is first installed in the cartridge housing slot 94. Thecartridge, without the temperature knob 29, is then pushed into the mainhousing 10 of the valve while the separated ends of the retainer 90 aresqueezed together with a special tool. When the cartridge housing hasreached its proper depth, the retainer 90 is allowed to expand into thegroove 92 of the main housing 10. The temperature knob 29 is theninstalled by pressing it on the outer cartridge housing 26. Removal ofthe cartridge is accomplished in the reverse manner. Thus a defectivevalve mechanism can be quickly changed by replacing the entire cartridgeas a unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the valve contains several additional O- rings andpins for sealing the valve against the outflow of water and forretaining the part in place. Most of these additional parts are used ina conventional manner readily apparent from the FIGURE, and thereforeare not described in detail.

Thus, the invention provides a valve of compact and efficient designwhich permits versatile control of water flow in sinks, lavatories, anda variety of other applications. The valve combines atemperature-regulating mechanism, volume-regulating mechanism, andon-off mechanism in a single cartridge that can be installed or removedas a unit from a main valve housing. The combination of on-offswitching, and volume control during the on state, is accomplished in acompact mechanism by employing a valve-closing member (the diaphragm)which is held against or away from a valve seat by control of bleedoffpressure at the back side of the member, and by a threaded member whichcan be turned to limit the maximum distance of the valve-closing memberfrom the valve seat. A minimum of turning friction is required to varythe volume, while assuring good sealing, by employing narrow diameterpins that couple the threaded bushing to the diaphragm. A controlpassageway which couples the two sides of the valve closing member ordiaphragm is repeatedly swabbed, so that a narrow diameter opening canbe employed to reduce water hammer. The swabbing is accomplished by aneedle portion which substantially completely blocks the controlpassageway when the valve is on, so that bleedofffrom the back side ofthe diaphragm is facilitated. The flexible diaphragm is constructed toassure good sealing around its eriphery. A boot is employed at thetemperature-regulating portion of the valve to prevent metal-to-metalcontact, and the temperature control portion is constructed to avoiddiscontinuities that might damage the boot.

FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the invention, similar to theembodiment of FIG. 1, except that a remote onoff control 100 isemployed, instead of a pushbutton mechanism. The on-off control 100 is aswitch which sends current to a solenoid operated valve 102 in thebleedoff passageway 54' of the valve. This valve has a needle 104 whichdoes not move, but which still serves to swab out the control passageway50 in the diaphragm 36. The needle 104 has a narrow outer end 106 and awider portion 108. When the diaphragm 36' is in the closed positionshown in FIG. 7, the walls of the control passageway 50 are disposedabout the narrow needle portion 106. However, when the bleedoff valve102 is opened to relieve back pressure on the diaphragm, and thediaphragm then deflects away from the valve seat 34 to open the valve,the walls of the control passageway 50 are then disposed about theenlarged needle portion 108. Thus, every time the valve is opened, thesmall control passageway 50 is swabbed out. The movement of the walls ofthe control passageway 50' is generally not as great as the movement ofaneedle valve in the embodiment of FIG. 1. However, the diaphragm candeflect enough so that the entire passageway 50 is swabbed out, andtherefore a narrow passageway can be employed to reduce the possibilityof water hammer. It also may be noted that when the valve is opened, thecontrol passageway 50 is substantially plugged by the enlarged portion103 of the needle, so that there is very little flow of water to thebackside of the diaphragm and the bleedoff passageway can easily relievepressure on the back side of the diaphragm.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variationsmay readily occur to those skilled in the art and, consequently, it isintended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications andequivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A valve comprising:

a main housing having hot and cold water inlets and an outlet;

a cartridge housing for reception in said main housing to turntherewithin, said cartridge housing having a temperature control portionadjacent to said hot and cold water inlets and a main passageway forcarrying water from said inlets to said outlet, said temperature controlportion turnable with said cartridge housing to alter the proportion ofwater passing into said main passageway from said hot and cold waterinlets, and said cartridge housing having means defining a valve seatalong said main passageway;

a closing member;

means for mounting said closing member adjacent to said valve seat, toresist rotation of said closing member relative to said valve seat whilepermitting movement of at least a portion of it against and away fromsaid valve seat;

volume regulator means including a volume regulator member threadablymounted within said cartridge hous' ing for advancing toward and awayfrom said valve seat to control the distance of said closing member fromsaid valve seat;

a first handle coupled to said cartridge housing to enable manualturning to control temperature; and

a second handle coupled to said volume regulator member to enable manualturning to control volume.

2. The valve described in claim 1 wherein:

said closing member comprises a flexible diaphragm with a front sidefacing said main passageway and a back side opposite said front side,said diaphragm having a hole in it for carrying water to its back side;and including means defining a bleedoff passageway for carrying wateraway from the back side of said diaphragm;

bleedoff passageway control means activatable to block and unblock saidbleedoffpassageway; and

means coupled to said second handle for activating said bleedoffpassageway control means by linear motion of said second handle.

3. The valve described in claim 2 including:

swabbing means coupled to said means for activating said bleedoffpassageway control means, for passing through said hole in saiddiaphragm to swab it.

4. The valve described in claim 1 wherein:

said closing member comprises a flexible diaphragm with a front sidefacing said main passageway and a back side opposite said front side,said diaphragm having a hole in it; and including a passage membermounted within said cartridge housing,

said passage member having walls defining a bleedoff passageway coupledto fluid at the back side of said diaphragm, and said passage memberhaving a plurality of apertures therethrough with seals therearound; and

said volume regulator means includes a plurality of rods extendingthrough said apertures to couple said valve regulator member to saiddiaphragm.

S. In a valve with a housing, which employs a valve-closing membermovable against and away from a valve seat to control the flow ofa fluidfrom an inlet region to an outlet, the improvement comprising:

means disposed in said valve housing for carrying fluid at said inletregion to a back side of said valve-closing member opposite said inletregion, to employ fluid pressure to tend to keep said valve closed;

bleedoff means coupled to the region at the back side of saidvalve-closing member and operable to open and close the outflow of fluidat the back side of said valveclosing member;

on-off control means coupled to said bleedoff means for operating saidbleedoff means to open and close said valve; and

volume control means including means disposed in said valve housing forlimiting the distance of said valve-closing member away from said valveseat to vary the amount offluid flow when the valve is open.

6. The improvement described in claim 5 wherein:

said valve control means includes a first member having a plurality ofapertures with fluid seals therein, a threadably mounted memberpositioned on a side of said first member opposite said valve-closingmember for turning to move toward and away from said valve-closingmember, and a plurality of narrow diameter rods extending through saidapertures in said first member and in slidable contact with said fluidseals, to couple said threadably mounted member to said valve-closingmember, whereby to permit narrow contact area dynamic seals.

7. A valve comprising:

a housing having inlet means and an outlet;

means defining a main passageway for coupling said inlet means to saidoutlet, including means defining a valve seat and a valve-closing membermounted for movement towards and away from said seat to close and opensaid main passageway;

shutoff means for alternating between a first state to maintain saidvalve-closing member tightly against said valve seat and a second stateto allow said valve-closing member to move away from said valve seat,including a push mechanism coupled to said shut off means foralternating said states;

volume control means including a threadably mounted volume regulator foradvancing towards and away from said valve seat to regulate the distanceof said valve-closing member from said valve seat when said shutoffmeans is in said second state; and

handle means coupled to said volume regulator to enable turning of saidvolume regulator for regulating the volume of flow when said shutoffmeans is in said second state, said handle means coupled to said pushmechanism to enable slidable movement of said push mechanism toalternate the states ofsaid shut off means.

8. The valve described in claim 7 wherein:

said inlet means includes means defining hot and cold fluid inlets;

said means defining a main passageway comprises a cartridge memberpivotally coupled to said housing, said cartridge member having aportion disposed adjacent to said hot and cold fluid inlets toalternatively close one inlet to said main passageway while opening theother as said cartridge member is turned, and a knob coupled to saidcartridge member to turn it; and

said cartridge member has an internally threaded region,

and said volume regulator is threadably mounted on said internallythreaded region of said cartridge member' 9. In a valve for controllingthe flow of fluid from an inlet to an outlet, which includes avalve-closing member movable against and away from a valve seat, meansdefining a control passageway for carrying fluid from the side of saidvalve-closing member which faces the inlet to the backside of themember. means defining a bleedoff passageway for carrying away fluidfrom the back side of the valve-closing member, and bleedoff passagewaycontrol means operable to open and close the bleedoff passageway torelieve or block the relief of pressure from the back side of thevalve-closing member, the improvement comprising:

a swabbing member;

operating means coupled to said bleedoff passageway control means foroperating it; and

means coupling said operating means to said swabbing member for slidingsaid swabbing member at least partially through said control passagewayat least some ofthe times when said bleedoff passageway control means isoperated.

10. The improvement described in claim 9 wherein:

said means defining a control passageway comprises walls in saidvalve-closing member defining a hole in said member, said swabbingmember extending at least partially through said hole.

11. The improvement described in claim 10 wherein:

said swabbing member has a first portion for sliding into said hole insaid valve-closing member, and a second portion larger than said firstportion, but small enough to slide into said hole in said valve-closingmember said portions arranged so that said second portion is within saidseat, said movable portion having a hole therein for carrying fluid fromthe side which faces the inlet to the back side 0 the diaphragm, meansdefining a bleedoff passageway for carrying away fluid from the backside of the diaphragm, and bleedoff passageway control means operable toopen and close the bleedofi passageway to relieve or block the relief ofpressure from the back side of the diaphragm, the improvementcomprising:

a swabbing member extending at least partially through said hole in saiddiaphragm; 7

said swabbing member having portions of different cross sections overwhich said diaphragm moves as said movable portion of said diaphragmmoves from a position against said valve seat to a position away fromsaid valve seat.

13. The improvement described in claim 12 including:

operating means coupled to said bleedoff passageway control means foroperating it; and

means for coupling said operating means to said swabbing member to movesaid swabbing member through said hole in said diaphragm portion whensaid bleedoff passageway control means is operated.

14. A valve comprising:

a main housing having metallic walls forming a substantially cylindricalinlet region and hot and cold water inlets opening into said region, andsaid housing having an outlet;

a liner of elastic material extending within said substantiallycylindrical inlet region and having holes therethrough aligned with saidhot and cold water inlets;

a cartridge housing for reception in said main housing to turntherewithin, said cartridge housing having a temperature control portionwit substantially cylindrical outer walls disposed within said liner, amain passageway for carrying water to said outlet, and at least onerecess extending radially from said substantially cylindrical outerwalls to said main passageway, said temperature control portion turnablewith said cartridge housing to alter the proportion of water passinginto said main passageway from said hot and cold water inlets, and thewalls of said temperature control portion defining a continuous smoothcurve between the region of said cylindrical outer walls around saidrecess and the walls of said recess, so there is no sharp corner to passacross said liner where it forms holes leading to said inlets;

said cartridge housing having means defining a valve seat along saidmain passageway;

a closing member mounted for movement against and away from said valveseat;

volume regulator means including a volume regulator member threadablymounted within said cartridge housing for advancing toward and away fromsaid valve seat to control the distance of said closing member from saidvalve seat;

a first handle coupled to said cartridge housing to enable manualturning to control temperature; and

a second handle coupled to said volume regulator member to enable manualturning to control volume.

1. A valve comprising: a main housing having hot and cold water inletsand an outlet; a cartridge housing for reception in said main housing toturn therewithin, said cartridge housing having a temperature controlportion adjacent to said hot and cold water inlets and a main passagewayfor carrying water from said inlets to said outlet, said temperaturecontrol portion turnable with said cartridge housing to alter theproportion of water passing into said main passageway from said hot andcold water inlets, and said cartridge housing having means defining avalve seat along said main passageway; a closing member; means formounting said closing member adjacent to said valve seat, to resistrotation of said closing member relative to said valve seat whilepermitting movement of at least a portion of it against and away fromsaid valve seat; volume regulator means including a volume regulatormember threadably mounted within said cartridge housing for advancingtoward and away from said valve seat to control the distance of saidclosing member from said valve seat; a first handle coupled to saidcartridge housing to enable manual turning to control temperature; and asecond handle coupled to said volume regulator member to enable manualturning to control volume.
 2. The valve described in claim 1 wherein:said closing member comprises a flexible diaphragm with a front sidefacing said main passageway and a back side opposite said front side,said diaphragm having a hole in it for carrying water to its back side;and including means defining a bleedoff passageway for carrying wateraway from the back side of said diaphragm; bleedoff passageway controlmeans activatable to block and unblock said bleedoff passageway; andmeans coupled to said second handle for activating said bleedoffpassageway control means by linear motion of said second handle.
 3. Thevalve described in claim 2 including: swabbing means coupled to saidmeans for activating said bleedoff passageway control means, for passingthrough said hole in said diaphragm to swab it.
 4. The valve describedin claim 1 wherein: said closing member comprises a flexible diaphragmwith a front side facing said main passageway and a back side oppositesaid front side, said diaphragm hAving a hole in it; and including apassage member mounted within said cartridge housing, said passagemember having walls defining a bleedoff passageway coupled to fluid atthe back side of said diaphragm, and said passage member having aplurality of apertures therethrough with seals therearound; and saidvolume regulator means includes a plurality of rods extending throughsaid apertures to couple said valve regulator member to said diaphragm.5. In a valve with a housing, which employs a valve-closing membermovable against and away from a valve seat to control the flow of afluid from an inlet region to an outlet, the improvement comprising:means disposed in said valve housing for carrying fluid at said inletregion to a back side of said valve-closing member opposite said inletregion, to employ fluid pressure to tend to keep said valve closed;bleedoff means coupled to the region at the back side of saidvalve-closing member and operable to open and close the outflow of fluidat the back side of said valve-closing member; on-off control meanscoupled to said bleedoff means for operating said bleedoff means to openand close said valve; and volume control means including means disposedin said valve housing for limiting the distance of said valve-closingmember away from said valve seat to vary the amount of fluid flow whenthe valve is open.
 6. The improvement described in claim 5 wherein: saidvalve control means includes a first member having a plurality ofapertures with fluid seals therein, a threadably mounted memberpositioned on a side of said first member opposite said valve-closingmember for turning to move toward and away from said valve-closingmember, and a plurality of narrow diameter rods extending through saidapertures in said first member and in slidable contact with said fluidseals, to couple said threadably mounted member to said valve-closingmember, whereby to permit narrow contact area dynamic seals.
 7. A valvecomprising: a housing having inlet means and an outlet; means defining amain passageway for coupling said inlet means to said outlet, includingmeans defining a valve seat and a valve-closing member mounted formovement towards and away from said seat to close and open said mainpassageway; shutoff means for alternating between a first state tomaintain said valve-closing member tightly against said valve seat and asecond state to allow said valve-closing member to move away from saidvalve seat, including a push mechanism coupled to said shut off meansfor alternating said states; volume control means including a threadablymounted volume regulator for advancing towards and away from said valveseat to regulate the distance of said valve-closing member from saidvalve seat when said shutoff means is in said second state; and handlemeans coupled to said volume regulator to enable turning of said volumeregulator for regulating the volume of flow when said shutoff means isin said second state, said handle means coupled to said push mechanismto enable slidable movement of said push mechanism to alternate thestates of said shut off means.
 8. The valve described in claim 7wherein: said inlet means includes means defining hot and cold fluidinlets; said means defining a main passageway comprises a cartridgemember pivotally coupled to said housing, said cartridge member having aportion disposed adjacent to said hot and cold fluid inlets toalternatively close one inlet to said main passageway while opening theother as said cartridge member is turned, and a knob coupled to saidcartridge member to turn it; and said cartridge member has an internallythreaded region, and said volume regulator is threadably mounted on saidinternally threaded region of said cartridge member.
 9. In a valve forcontrolling the flow of fluid from an inlet to an outlet, which includesa valve-closing member movable against and away from a valve seat, meaNsdefining a control passageway for carrying fluid from the side of saidvalve-closing member which faces the inlet to the backside of themember, means defining a bleedoff passageway for carrying away fluidfrom the back side of the valve-closing member, and bleedoff passagewaycontrol means operable to open and close the bleedoff passageway torelieve or block the relief of pressure from the back side of thevalve-closing member, the improvement comprising: a swabbing member;operating means coupled to said bleedoff passageway control means foroperating it; and means coupling said operating means to said swabbingmember for sliding said swabbing member at least partially through saidcontrol passageway at least some of the times when said bleedoffpassageway control means is operated.
 10. The improvement described inclaim 9 wherein: said means defining a control passageway compriseswalls in said valve-closing member defining a hole in said member, saidswabbing member extending at least partially through said hole.
 11. Theimprovement described in claim 10 wherein: said swabbing member has afirst portion for sliding into said hole in said valve-closing member,and a second portion larger than said first portion, but small enough toslide into said hole in said valve-closing member said portions arrangedso that said second portion is within said hole in said valve-closingmember when said bleedoff passageway is open, whereby to impede fluidflow to the back side of said valve closing member when fluid is beingdrained away.
 12. In a valve for controlling the flow of fluid from aninlet to an outlet, which includes a flexible diaphragm with a movableportion that can deflect against and away from a valve seat, saidmovable portion having a hole therein for carrying fluid from the sidewhich faces the inlet to the back side of the diaphragm, means defininga bleedoff passageway for carrying away fluid from the back side of thediaphragm, and bleedoff passageway control means operable to open andclose the bleedoff passageway to relieve or block the relief of pressurefrom the back side of the diaphragm, the improvement comprising: aswabbing member extending at least partially through said hole in saiddiaphragm; said swabbing member having portions of different crosssections over which said diaphragm moves as said movable portion of saiddiaphragm moves from a position against said valve seat to a positionaway from said valve seat.
 13. The improvement described in claim 12including: operating means coupled to said bleedoff passageway controlmeans for operating it; and means for coupling said operating means tosaid swabbing member to move said swabbing member through said hole insaid diaphragm portion when said bleedoff passageway control means isoperated.
 14. A valve comprising: a main housing having metallic wallsforming a substantially cylindrical inlet region and hot and cold waterinlets opening into said region, and said housing having an outlet; aliner of elastic material extending within said substantiallycylindrical inlet region and having holes therethrough aligned with saidhot and cold water inlets; a cartridge housing for reception in saidmain housing to turn therewithin, said cartridge housing having atemperature control portion wit substantially cylindrical outer wallsdisposed within said liner, a main passageway for carrying water to saidoutlet, and at least one recess extending radially from saidsubstantially cylindrical outer walls to said main passageway, saidtemperature control portion turnable with said cartridge housing toalter the proportion of water passing into said main passageway fromsaid hot and cold water inlets, and the walls of said temperaturecontrol portion defining a continuous smooth curve between the region ofsaid cylindrical outer walls around said recess and the walls of saidrecess, so there is no sharp corner to pass across said lIner where itforms holes leading to said inlets; said cartridge housing having meansdefining a valve seat along said main passageway; a closing membermounted for movement against and away from said valve seat; volumeregulator means including a volume regulator member threadably mountedwithin said cartridge housing for advancing toward and away from saidvalve seat to control the distance of said closing member from saidvalve seat; a first handle coupled to said cartridge housing to enablemanual turning to control temperature; and a second handle coupled tosaid volume regulator member to enable manual turning to control volume.